Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $1,026.62, but opened at $995.15. Costco Wholesale shares last traded at $971.89, with a volume of 512,693 shares trading hands.

The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COST. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $989.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $942.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.